Support

A cookie is a piece of data stored by your browser or device that helps websites like this one recognize return visitors. We use cookies to give you the best experience on BNA.com. Some cookies are also necessary for the technical operation of our website. If you continue browsing, you agree to this site’s use of cookies.

Events

Bloomberg Next marketing services allow clients to elevate their brands and extend their reach through our established and trusted expertise, enhanced with engaging event production, appealing design, and compelling messaging.

Preventing Research Abuse Will Require Systemic Changes

Irresponsible or abusive actions in research beyond the narrow legal definition of
misconduct pose serious challenges to sustaining the highest standards of research
integrity in the U.S., a National Academies concluded in a
report released April 11.

The report, Fostering Integrity in Research, is the Academies’ first look at this
subject since its
report on responsible science 25 years ago. But major changes in the research environment
since 1992 have created new challenges in fostering integrity in research, Robert
M. Nerem, chairman of the committee that produced the report, said at an April 11
release event.

“Research has really been transformed by technologies, by the globalization of research,
collaboration across disciplines,” Nerem said.

The report also comes out a time when the White House is
proposing to cut federal funding for biomedical research by nearly 20 percent. Nerem, who is
a
Georgia Institute of Technology professor, said the possibility of reduced research funding also leads to an “ever-growing
competition.”

‘Integrity is Everything’

Integrity is probably the most important quality a scientist can have, Marcia McNutt,
president of the National Academy of Sciences, said during the April 11 event.

“If you don’t have integrity,” McNutt said, “no one is going to pay any attention
to the scientific papers you write or the work you produce. Your integrity is everything.”

Research Misconduct

The
legal definition of research misconduct is limited to the falsification, fabrication or plagiarism
of data. The report also seeks to address what the committee termed “detrimental research
practices,” or activities that clearly damage research even if they fall outside the
statuary definition of misconduct.

Some examples of detrimental practices include: misleading statistical analysis that
falls short of falsification; neglectful or exploitative supervision in research;
demanding authorship in return for access to previously collected data or materials;
and abusive or irresponsible publication practices by journal editors and peer reviewers.

“We felt very strongly that we needed to go beyond simply focusing on individual researchers,”
Nerem said. “We really needed to have a broader focus looking at the entire system
because it’s not simply research misconduct, there are also are other practices in
research that are detrimental to the research enterprise.”

While the committee endorsed the definition of research misconduct, Nerem said it
also wanted to focus on detrimental research practices.

Research Integrity Advisory Board

The report proposed creation of a nonprofit research integrity advisory board that
would work with researchers, research institutions, research sponsors and regulators,
journals and scientific societies without adding another regulatory or legal layer,
Nerem said.

“We don’t think more regulations is the way to, in any way, foster research integrity,”
he said. “We expect this research integrity advisory board to increase the capacity
of institutions to foster integrity, to serve as a forum to share knowledge and expertise,
and be a focal point of efforts to improve standards of consensus.”

Go Beyond Compliance Requirements

The committee called on research institutions to go beyond complying with the federal
regulations for research misconduct (
42 C.F.R. 50, 93) and maintaining a culture that fosters research integrity. They also want institutions
and federal agencies to protect good-faith whistle-blowers, citing previous inadequate
responses to misconduct allegations that have “constituted a critical point of failure
in many cases of misconduct where investigations were delayed or sidetracked.”

“Those who raise concerns are often the most vulnerable participants in the system,
typically holding little institutional power or status,” the report said.

The report also called on societies and journals to develop clear disciplinary authorship
standards based on the principle of “those who have made a significant intellectual
contribution are authors.”

Other recommendations include:

Federal funding agencies and other research sponsors should enable the long-term
storage, archiving and access of data sets and code necessary for the replication
of published findings.

Government agencies and private foundations that support research should fund research
to quantify, and develop responses to, conditions in the research environment that
may be linked to research misconduct and detrimental research practices.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeannie Baumann in Washington at
jbaumann@bna.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Randy Kubetin at
RKubetin@bna.com

All Bloomberg BNA treatises are available on standing order, which ensures you will always receive the most current edition of the book or supplement of the title you have ordered from Bloomberg BNA’s book division. As soon as a new supplement or edition is published (usually annually) for a title you’ve previously purchased and requested to be placed on standing order, we’ll ship it to you to review for 30 days without any obligation. During this period, you can either (a) honor the invoice and receive a 5% discount (in addition to any other discounts you may qualify for) off the then-current price of the update, plus shipping and handling or (b) return the book(s), in which case, your invoice will be cancelled upon receipt of the book(s). Call us for a prepaid UPS label for your return. It’s as simple and easy as that. Most importantly, standing orders mean you will never have to worry about the timeliness of the information you’re relying on. And, you may discontinue standing orders at any time by contacting us at 1.800.960.1220 or by sending an email to books@bna.com.

Put me on standing order at a 5% discount off list price of all future updates, in addition to any other discounts I may quality for. (Returnable within 30 days.)

Notify me when updates are available (No standing order will be created).

This Bloomberg BNA report is available on standing order, which ensures you will all receive the latest edition. This report is updated annually and we will send you the latest edition once it has been published. By signing up for standing order you will never have to worry about the timeliness of the information you need. And, you may discontinue standing orders at any time by contacting us at 1.800.372.1033, option 5, or by sending us an email to research@bna.com.

Put me on standing order

Notify me when new releases are available (no standing order will be created)